Sioux Falls Wants Local Talent For Sanford PREMIER Center Open House. Is It An Opportunity or a Slap in the Face?

The Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls hasn’t even opened their doors and the facility has already come under fire and public scrutiny on so many topics starting with the location, to bands booked, to ticket sales to the bulging metal panels on the outside of the venue. It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for the long overdue facility.

The latest faux pas came Tuesday when the city announced they were taking applications from local musicians, comedians, and bands to play ‘soft openings’ for the center in September during open houses.

The plan is for multiple stages to be set up through the center September 19-20 with performers playing as the public comes through to tour the new facility.

The problem is, they don’t want to pay the performers.

As someone who is friends with, and knows a LOT of local musicians, that is a slap in the face. These talented men and women work their butts off practicing, learning, performing for years, not to be rich and famous (although that wouldn’t hurt!) but because they are passionate about the music and the craft.

When a bar or an event wants people to come to their establishment and they have live music, they pay the musicians. A lot of local musicians played the second stage at JazzFest. They got paid. Bands play the Downtown Block Parties. They get paid. We’re going to have some great local musicians at RiverFest in August. Again, they’re getting paid. Jason Aldean, Cher and others will play the Center this fall. They’re all getting paid. Why are they not paying the musicians for the Open House?

The city has spent millions on studies, naming rights, publicity, marketing, building, booking and more, yet can’t come up with a few thousand bucks to book some of these talented folks to help highlight and showcase the new facility??

A number of these wonderfully talented folks have helped us out over the years by donating their time to charities like Make-A-Wish, Teddy Bear Den, Cure Kids Cancer and others, but those gigs were for CHARITIES that help local families and children. The Sanford PREMIER Center is definitely not a charity.

Come on Sioux Falls. This is one thing you can make right after a series of wrongs as we open this facility. Offer to pay the Sioux Falls musicians you want to have play the Open House.

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